Help: Changing to Sotalol

Heart health and blood vessels
1

I need help a.fib buddies.  Been on bisoprolol many years, and after 3 attacks ending up in A & E in 4 months my gp has changed my betablocker to Sotalol, low dose to start 40mg twice a day, I'm worried about what might be the consequences.  Hate this thing makes me live on a knife edge waiting for the next attack, Gp will not give me anything for anxiety or to help me sleep.  Any advice please.  Good luck to all my suffering buddies.  X   By the way the only drug that got my rhythm back was digoxin but they seem loathe to prescribe it regularly.  c 

2

Hi Pauline,

there are lots of self help groups on Facebook which I have found very useful. Put in atrial fibrillation and you can have a look. some very knowledgeable people on them. There is also a Dr Sanjay Gupta a cardiologist from York who posts lots of videos on you tube that are life savers and help us all with the anxiety.

3

Other afibers posting have had good result with flecainide but I'm still on Bisoprolol and Warfarin.. Have you considered an ablation? When I started having afib I went to A&E and all they did was to monitor my heart until the episode stopped (no cardioversion) so now I just carry on as normal until the episode passes.

4

I read a recent report of a-fibbers that said digoxin is a VERY dangerous drug -- so stay off it if you can.  It also got me back into rythym when I was hospitalized with a 176 pbm -- but I was able to get off it after that.

Good luck.  Suzanne

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Hi in on sotalol its very good hun

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Hi Marco, that's unbelievable, how many hours did it take?  The longest attack I've had so far was about 10 hrs and quite honestly it was exhausting, can't imagine it would right itself without the loads of different drugs they had to use for me, my pulse went to 150 all that time.  B.p. very high too.  You're very lucky not to be on betablockers as they don't half slow you down.  Keep well Marco.  Thanks for your reply. 

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Thanks bev, were you on other betablockers?  What dose are you on?  Gp started me on 2 X 40 mg but has to build up apparently.  Bisoprolol made me so tired and put on a stone over the years.  Sounds good that you're coping with it.  Keep well and strong. Be interested in your history. 

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Thanks Judith, seen dr. Guptas videos, very helpful.  All the best. 

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I was on sotalol 120 mg twice a day. Took my pulse down to 50-53, but it controlled the afib. Have to monitor the qt interval. What I was on was a really high dose. I couldn't go any

Higher and changing meds was t an option so I had an ablation. 7 wks in-so far so good.

Good luck to u. The anxiety is the worse I

Think.

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Thanks for your reply afiblady, what does qt interval mean, fingers X your ablation continued to be successful.  Tell me did you ever drink a glass of wine on Sotalol?   What's the ablation procedure like, and you are so right, I get do anxious and my gp says "find coping strategies".  All the best to you. 

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Not an expert, but on your EKG the distance between the Q and the T should be less than .5( they measure that interval). If it gets above .5 u can go into heart block and other complications. Getting the dose right is crucial. I was on 160 twice a day, for a short while, but it dropped my heartrate too low and I finally evened out at the 120 dose. This was enough of a trial for me to say I'm not switching back and forth w meds, just do the ablation and go from there.

I had 1 sip of wine at my daughters wedding as a toast( I have never drank or even had a beer!--boring, I know). My heart flip flopped in protest.

Hoping u the best of wellness

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The ablation procedure was a breeze.a "raw achy feeling for a week or so. Tired, anxious waiting for another episode, but it never came. Have occasional skipped beats and that makes me anxious thinking afib is going to kick in. I am now on lopressor and still on eliquis. I don't think the lopressor dose is high enough, because blood pressure goes up 2-3 hours before next dose is due and goes right back down 1/2 hour after I take the next dose. I think I need a longer acting dose, but I'm not a doc so who knows. It has been 7 weeks since ablation. I will always be on a blood thinner due to my chads -vascular score. It is a 3. Age, female, and high blood pressure?

Hope this helps.

By the way, my ablation took 4 hours. I was in afib when I got there and didn't know it, and

That made it a little easier for them to start.

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Hi im on same dose 2 x 40 mg been on it for 12 years plus have the odd attack xx

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Thanks again bev.  Are you able to have the occasional tipple on this? Xx 

how many odd attacks, do,you end up in A&E?  Keep well 

15

Sounds a very positive experience, but there's no way I wouldn't know I was in a.fib, out can virtually see the chest jmping about uncontrollable.  Keep,well xx

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Oh I had the jumping out of my chest. I describe it like a fish flipping in a bucket w no water. That is what is scary and I'm afraid of. I hate that feeling. It is just when I went to the doctor after starting my meds he asked how I was doing and I told him I hadn't felt any episodes and he put me on the monitor and I was in afib at 94 while talking to him. That was even scarier. Being in afib and not knowing it.

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OMG that must have been really scary.  Think the highest I have been is 150 for several hours, and it is so exhausting, and terrigying.  It puts you in a panic for a start.  I have been told to get to A and E asap, which is terrifying in itself.  Thanks for all this info.  I have just had a call from my GP who has spoken to a cardiologist, and said because I am a woman I may need higher dosage of Sotalol, so put me up to double, so 160 mg daily, and see how that is.   Havent got a lot of faith in him Im afraid.  Hey ho.  Keep going the right way afib. 

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Hi pauline no i dont drink never not because of tablets i just hate the stuff and twice a year x

19

Sotalol is good. Give it time to work and make sure u take it on time. Important!

Well ess to u

20

Years ago I was hospitalized and they put me on SOTALOL. It was the BEST DRUG I ever had for AFIB. It worked terrifically for 3 to 4 years and then apparently lost its effectiveness.

Since then I've never been on an AFIB drug which worked so wonderful as SOTALOL.

I have since asked my Doctors to put me back on SOTALOL but in order to receive SOTALOL - the patient must be monitored in a hospital for about three (3) days. Since I am too busy to be hospitalized - I can't get treated with it.

Many Doctors don't like to prescribe SOTALOL for AFIB because it is really not the classic treatment drug for AFIB. BUT IT DAMN WELL WORKS. If something is working for you - who cares about those things.

CONCLUSION

I hope SOTALOL works for you the way it did for me. Because it really took away all of those crazy AFIB symptoms which other medications always caused.

Good luck.